The Inquirer: Microsoft Patents the Essence of a Unix
Command

OrangeCrate: Patently Stupid

"If there is anything that should invalidate an invention, it is
a little thing called prior art. According to this story from the
The Inquirer, Microsoft has essentially patented the sudo command.
How such a thing as a command that has been in practice for several
decades can be considered an invention is beyond me. If anything,
this 'invention' points out the problem inherent in the way that
the patent office works.

"The problem with the US Patent and Trademark Office is that
there is no incentive to deny a patent. Patent filers simply have
to have enough money to file, and suffer no apparent consequences
for filing patents that patent 'obvious' inventions that have been
used by prior art for years (if not decades). That alone is a
problem in the way that patents are granted..."